I'm fairly certain that stance has both that Engineer and the studio he represents losing sleep tonight. You can likely feel pretty confident about that statement all day Monday at your primary job while they are at theirs
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Engineers and Precision Basses. The truth comes out.
- Thread starter tb-player
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I'm fairly certain that stance has both that Engineer and the studio he represents losing sleep tonight. You can likely feel pretty confident about that statement all day Monday at your primary job while they are at theirs
I love P basses. They play well on tape and live.
That’s fact 1.
No live sound or studio EVER told a paying client they had to use a P. It never happened. By never, I mean NEVER. But I like my P and I can surely appreciate how much many other bassists like theirs.
That’s fact 2.
That’s fact 1.
No live sound or studio EVER told a paying client they had to use a P. It never happened. By never, I mean NEVER. But I like my P and I can surely appreciate how much many other bassists like theirs.
That’s fact 2.
About as much a reality as batteries in an active circuit ever "going dead" on a gig, in other words?
Ah, bass players and our myths.
I’ve used a few active basses. By no means a majority. But some. It’s like driving a car. If you know it’s active, replace it once in a while. Preventive maintenance. I wouldn’t let my car run out of gas and I’ve never had a battery fail in a bass. Same thing.
I had that exact scenario happen on a gig - Yamaha TRB6II. It was right at the end of a song. Quickly grabbed the spare 9v out of my gig bag, made the change and I was good to go. Took 30 seconds
You're still pumping gas into that thing? C'mon now man; just get a Yugo already. Every real commuter knows that it sits well in traffic...
Last week, I had a session with a very seasoned sound engineer. I’ve known him a long time and he always digs the tone of my basses… until now.
I normally play something with 2 pickups, like a jazz or jazz-adjacent bass. They’re versatile and I like the tone. This time, I decided to bring my righteous Olinto Precision bass, since we all know sound engineers prefer to mix a P, right? Ummm… not exactly.
We had a good session. When it was done the sound engineer and I were talking and I asked him how much he was digging that beautiful bass. His response was very ‘meh’. He then proceeded to go into a deep dive about frequencies & such that I didn’t quite understand. But in the end, he definitely preferred something with a bit more ‘zing’ in the higher frequencies.
So I asked him, “what about all the stories we hear about some pro bassist who went to the studio with his fancy boutique bass and the engineer had him play the whole session on the in-house p-bass… and the rest is history?”
He laughed and said, “That’s not because the p-bass is better. It’s because the engineer is lazy and doesn’t want to waste time dialing in a new bass tone.”
That was a humbling and enlightening response. And also more proof that the only person bass tone matters to is the bassist.
Disclaimer- Yes, I recognize this is only one guy’s opinion. But it’s a pretty good one.
So the engineer confirmed what almost everybody here says. Dialing a p bass is quick, easy, safes money and works 90% of the time. What is yihr point? That other instruments sound great as well? We knew that.
So the sound engineer said with other basses, you have to fiddle with it and "dial in a NEW bass tone" (emphasis added)
But with a Pbass you don't have to spend time doing this because it's implied here that it already works. Already sounds good.
I don't get it. What's wrong with that? It seems to me that he proved the Pbass point. Am I misunderstanding what you're saying or what the sound engineer was saying? My apologies if I am but that's what I took away from it.
But with a Pbass you don't have to spend time doing this because it's implied here that it already works. Already sounds good.
I don't get it. What's wrong with that? It seems to me that he proved the Pbass point. Am I misunderstanding what you're saying or what the sound engineer was saying? My apologies if I am but that's what I took away from it.
A
Haha. Yeah, that’s for another thread.
Although, the other day I heard a country song that made me literally laugh out loud. To the tune of “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine” the country artist sang, “This Miller Lite of mine, I’m gonna drink all night.”
I thought it was a joke. But no, he was totally serious.
Nonsense indeed.[/QUOT
And here's the formula:Haha. Yeah, that’s for another thread.
Although, the other day I heard a country song that made me literally laugh out loud. To the tune of “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine” the country artist sang, “This Miller Lite of mine, I’m gonna drink all night.”
I thought it was a joke. But no, he was totally serious.
Nonsense indeed.
When I'm tracking my p-bass, I always leave the tone knob on full. Zero cut. No other EQs or anything. Tube preamp into the board. Never had any trouble EQing that setup in post production!
Time is money and if you bring in a P bass where the "lazy" engineer just has to set a level and you're good to go versus bringing you're favorite bass of the month that is a relative unknown and requires more work to dial in. Who is going to get the call next time?
I've had the good fortune to work with some real heavy-hitter producers--grammy-winning folks--and they did indeed very often go for a P but they are by no means "lazy". These guys didn't get where they are by being close-minded. They're always open to trying something different, which is why I always made sure we had options (which invariably included a P w flats and one w rounds). Did the P often win in the shootout? Sure, but not because we didn't experiment with other axes.
Clearly, the point here as it seems to me is that there is absolutely no room for expression in music. Did you foolishly think that we are playing a game of creative expression? Silly bear. Obviously, you should always listen to the laziest mind in the room who is also likely charging by the hour to define 'your' sonic ideas. Just think of how the scope of bass playing as we all (?) revere it would not exist if Jaco had not listened to the engineer and just played a P. Or Sir Paul. Or Cliff Burton... I could go on and on, but you see how the point I am making is pretty obvious.
Oh, but wait. None of those people played a P on the things they are truly noted for. Hmm...
Just because something is easy and consistent doesn't it mean it's the best.
I mean, chain restaurants do a really good job of delivering you a predictable meal. And that's fine - heck, the only decent Italian food near me is at chain restaurants, because every local place I've tried can't even get the basics right, and they still charge more.
Starbucks manages to be super consistent with their coffee.
And you know what...it's fine for a latte or cappuccino. I mean, it isn't memorable, but it's not "throw it in the garbage" quality. That being said, I've found some places where their espresso is horrible, and others where it is a truly memorable experience.
Not everything in life needs to aim to be top shelf...but at the same time, let's be honest and admit that going the easy route means not taking risks, and taking risks is where it becomes possible to deliver something better. Or worse.
Some how I suspected this.He laughed and said, “That’s not because the p-bass is better. It’s because the engineer is lazy and doesn’t want to waste time dialing in a new bass tone.”
That was a humbling and enlightening response. And also more proof that the only person bass tone matters to is the bassist.
Disclaimer- Yes, I recognize this is only one guy’s opinion. But it’s a pretty good one.
Alright, Mr. Passive Aggressive. It's just an opinion shared on the Internet. You don't have to think too hard into it.
Folks here keep talking about "engineers". At every "big time" session I've done here in LA, the producer(along with the artist) is the one making the final decisions on what instrument voices will achieve the desired result for the song. The engineer, depending on the working dynamics he has with the producer, can certainly influence those decisions, but it's the producer makes the final call. Trust me, no engineer is telling Rick Rubin what bass to use on a track, though he might offer suggestions.
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The call for what? If you are a studio musician, your playing acumen is what is getting you calls and contracts. Not the few minutes extra (or less) it may take to dial in your new favorite bass of the month. I'll bet Lee Sklar could 'waste' 3 hours + of an engineer's time with his new favorite bass and nobody would mutter a word about it. If you are a hobbyist (with a day job), dealing with a hobbyist engineer, these things may matter. But in the bigger picture, isn't it already game over?
What game are we playing here?
What's the majority of recorded music. Some generic demo/jingle/recording or some creative new Jaco? Just because you and I may not like what's going on, doesn't mean that is reality, and for some very valid business reasons. All I said is that the OP confirmed why the P-Bass is so popular when recording. It's quick, it is easy, it works, and it safes money. I never said it's the best option.
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